How much of hotel fees to add to insurance

[austinhoops]

Question about adding cost of hotels to travel insurance.

 

I have a Travel Guard Gold policy with pre-existing coverage, so have been adding non-refundable costs as I've booked things. So far, I have included the entire cost of the hotels on the trip. As I've thought about this more, am wondering if I am over-insuring because I only forfeit one night's room cost if I have to cancel within a few days of arrival (it's entirely refundable until then). On the other hand, at some point, assuming the trip goes as planned, I'll spend the full cost of several nights at the hotel.

 

So what is the right thing to do? Do you only insure the hotel fees for the amount non-refundable if you had to cancel at the last minute? Or do you insure for the entire cost of the hotel? At some point, those costs become "non-refundable" as well...while you are staying in the hotel.

 

Have called Travel Guard, but didn't get a clear cut answer, more of a "it can't hurt to insure it all, just in case" sort of response. I might try to call back and speak to a different agent, but wanted to draw from experience on this board.

 

thx.

[Kamloops50]

Question about adding cost of hotels to travel insurance.

 

I have a Travel Guard Gold policy with pre-existing coverage, so have been adding non-refundable costs as I've booked things. So far, I have included the entire cost of the hotels on the trip. As I've thought about this more, am wondering if I am over-insuring because I only forfeit one night's room cost if I have to cancel within a few days of arrival (it's entirely refundable until then). On the other hand, at some point, assuming the trip goes as planned, I'll spend the full cost of several nights at the hotel.

 

So what is the right thing to do? Do you only insure the hotel fees for the amount non-refundable if you had to cancel at the last minute? Or do you insure for the entire cost of the hotel? At some point, those costs become "non-refundable" as well...while you are staying in the hotel.

 

Have called Travel Guard, but didn't get a clear cut answer, more of a "it can't hurt to insure it all, just in case" sort of response. I might try to call back and speak to a different agent, but wanted to draw from experience on this board.

 

thx.

 

I would do the same thing.

[GeezerCouple]

Question about adding cost of hotels to travel insurance.

 

I have a Travel Guard Gold policy with pre-existing coverage, so have been adding non-refundable costs as I've booked things. So far, I have included the entire cost of the hotels on the trip. As I've thought about this more, am wondering if I am over-insuring because I only forfeit one night's room cost if I have to cancel within a few days of arrival (it's entirely refundable until then). On the other hand, at some point, assuming the trip goes as planned, I'll spend the full cost of several nights at the hotel.

 

So what is the right thing to do? Do you only insure the hotel fees for the amount non-refundable if you had to cancel at the last minute? Or do you insure for the entire cost of the hotel? At some point, those costs become "non-refundable" as well...while you are staying in the hotel.

 

Have called Travel Guard, but didn't get a clear cut answer, more of a "it can't hurt to insure it all, just in case" sort of response. I might try to call back and speak to a different agent, but wanted to draw from experience on this board.

 

thx.

 

This is a good reason (one of many) to use a broker service like TripInsuranceStore.com [no, we are not affiliated; we are one of apparently many very satisfied customers here on CruiseCritic, but there are other similar services]. It does not cost extra to use them, for the identical policy through the identical insurer.

 

They can answer your questions, and they'd know "how to ask the question" of the insurer to get the answer that is specific to your situation. They even sometimes bring up specific situations to ask "if" you'd want coverage for that or not, suggesting whether it would cost less without, or more if needed. Thus far, they've pointed us to the least expensive vendor for similar types of coverage (mostly right now, it varies due to different break points at different ages), and they've also suggested that we probably did NOT need something extra as our specific situation was covered elsewhere. Nice.

 

We are also in this situation, as was another CC poster recently.

 

Our hotels, pre- and post-cruise are fully refundable at this point.

When it starts to get closer, such that we'd forfeit the first night's cost, we'll call TripInsuranceStore folks, and ask how to handle the few days during which we'd have that additional small "non-refundable" amount.

We also don't want to save the percentage premium on what is a rather small amount, relatively speaking, if that jeopardizes the entire coverage.

Like you, we'd want to be sure that we didn't get it wrong.

(For example if we actually arrived at the hotel, and thus that first night was already used, IF we needed to leave early, would there still be a second night "guaranteed" and thus non-refundable? It can be tricky. So can insurance companies. So would we insure the entire stay, or "just keep that one extra guaranteed night" coverage in place, with each night being "the next night". I have no idea... YET.)

 

There are other hotels (mostly conferences) where the entire stay is prepaid (or 50% pre-paid), and "no refunds" --> even if they re-book the rooms. (In practice, the one time we had to cancel due to illness, that hotel was very helpful and just refunded the full amount, recognizing that they had a waiting list. No insurance was involved then.)

 

GeezerCouple

[sirwired]

I don't think this is that complicated. If you cancel and show a credit card statement or canceled check showing you've recovered every penny of the uninsured payments, then you have obviously successfully insured all pre-paid, non-refundable payments and meet the requirements for the pre-ex waiver, etc.

[6rugrats]

What I don't understand about this requirement to insure all costs or you will lose your "cancel for any reason" coverage or "pre-existing condition" coverage for a TG policy.

 

If you don't turn in a claim for something (such as not insuring your hotel costs) how would they know you even had that cost?

[austinhoops]

What I don't understand about this requirement to insure all costs or you will lose your "cancel for any reason" coverage or "pre-existing condition" coverage for a TG policy.

 

If you don't turn in a claim for something (such as not insuring your hotel costs) how would they know you even had that cost?

 

This is the same thing I wonder about....how would they know if you don't claim those expenses? I would love to hear from someone who has had to file a claim with a pre-existing waiver...how does the insurance company know that you've insured everything if you only claim for the ones you've insured? Let's say, for example, you prepaid museum entrance tickets but forgot to insure them, yet you don't claim this expense...how would they know?

[GeezerCouple]

This is the same thing I wonder about....how would they know if you don't claim those expenses? I would love to hear from someone who has had to file a claim with a pre-existing waiver...how does the insurance company know that you've insured everything if you only claim for the ones you've insured? Let's say, for example, you prepaid museum entrance tickets but forgot to insure them, yet you don't claim this expense...how would they know?

 

All of these questions ("How would they know if we charged non-refundable <whatever>?") are obviously interesting.

 

For the smaller costs, like museum tickets, those are no doubt covered if one makes sure that one has a buffer within the $500 incremental coverage (for our type of policy, anyway), or just bumps it up if it's close.

Even a hotel night or two could get included here, anyway.

 

We know that the insurer will try to find a way to deny a claim if there's anything suspicious.

What could be suspicious?

Maybe flying into a port 3 days before a cruise, and flying out 3 days later, and no hotel charges insured. Some hotels costs are NOT non-refundable, of course.

I have no doubt that the insurers have a flock of accountants and attorneys who specialize in this, or many people would soon be doing this, and the policy wording would be useless.

[There IS a different type of policy, annual max of $2.5k or $5k pp, that would allow one to decide what is insured or not, throughout the year, but there is one odd outcome that makes in unsatisfactory for us, even without the annual limit.]

 

There's probably a clause or two in the insurance policy that gives the insurer the right to inspect documents or somehow verify that things are on the up and up. It's usually easy enough to determine which charge cards are active, for example.

 

How often is anything like this done? I have absolutely no idea.

 

But a big part of insurance for us is the "peace of mind" factor, so it's not worth saving a very small percentage (the insurance) of a very small part (hotel or such) of the total non-refundable cost, in a way that might jeopardize the entire coverage if it were to be needed, ESPECIALLY if it jeopardized any medical/evac coverage, too.

 

GeezerCouple

[sirwired]

What I don't understand about this requirement to insure all costs or you will lose your "cancel for any reason" coverage or "pre-existing condition" coverage for a TG policy.

 

If you don't turn in a claim for something (such as not insuring your hotel costs) how would they know you even had that cost?

 

Well, they don't ask for very credit card statement between initial booking and your trip, but they DO ask for the statement where you booked the trip and the one where bought the policy. If there are charges from travel companies on there they are going to want to want to see those bookings.

 

And of course if you cancel a week before your trip, trying to convince them you didn't have some vital part of your trip booked (when they ask to see, say, your airline booking, to verify it wasn't nonrefundable) is not going to be real credible.

 

I'm sure there are ways around it, but I don't spend a great deal of brain cells trying to figure out a way around my insurance policies.

 

Why is the requirement there? Well, they don't want to deliver a pre-ex waiver for free, so requiring you to insure the whole trip amount and offering the waiver as a "promotional" coverage makes sense.

[austinhoops]

I'm actually over-insured for my trip. Just don't want to take any chances. So my question isn't about trying to skirt the system, but just honest curiosity about how this all works in practice.

[LHT28]

I only insure the non refundable portion of the hotel booking

 

The insurance will only cover you for the amount you insure

We had to make a claim earlier this yr

I was insured for $15,000...the day before our flight I upgraded the airline seats (non refundable) but did not even think to call the insurance co

as bad luck would have it DH got sick the morning of the flight so had to cancel the trip

 

Filed the claim sent in all the paperwork claim was for $15,345

Ins paid exactly the amount I had insure $15,000

They will not pay all of your losses if you did not insured for the amount

 

I am just thankful they covered it & DH is fine

Edited November 11, 2013 by LHT28